YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — From Louisiana to Michigan, in this week’s Check-in with the Chief, we went to Ypsilanti to talk with police Chief Kirk Moore, who’s fresh on the job.
Moore’s only been on the job for less than six months, and he’s sharing what he’s learned so far, what surprised him the most and the challenges facing his department.
“This community is very passionate and they are not shy about vocalizing it,” Moore said. “The advocacy seems to be kind of across the board… child welfare — very much so — the unsheltered population and the vulnerable population.
Moore said the social issues factor into the department’s policing.
“We have a duty and an obligation to take those things in and work them into how we police the community. So… they go hand in hand,” the chief said.
The biggest issues the department is facing right now is staffing and resources, Moore said.
“I've had to do some very intentional things to market the organization and make it very attractive to people that we want to see in the organization,” he said. “So that's a huge challenge.”
Moore also spoke about the stigmas and viewpoints some have of police.
“There's the stigma that police officers are not here as servants. We are a resource to this community and to every community across the country. So, the stigma that we're just law enforcement, enforcing the law is just a mere portion, a fraction of what we do, right?” Moore sad.
Moore’s background is what inspired him to get to where he is today.
“I grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. My experience in New Orleans, I grew up in a very resource-challenged community. I was raised by a single parent, my mother. But I had the help of my grandfather, my uncles and my coaches,” Moore said. “And so I tell people all the time, even though I grew up under challenging circumstances, I was never without love.”
Moore’s career started in corrections, and he said that laid the foundation, with being able to relate to people in the prison system.
“It allowed me — without the accessibility to weapons and all of those things — to really have to relate to people and talk to people,” he said.
A concern the chief has is with the department’s vehicle pursuit policy, saying they’re “one of the more high-risk things” in the profession.
“I think every time I hear lights and sirens, it really gives me a little anxiety because I really want my officers to really understand that we still have a duty and responsibility to travel and traverse with due care,” Moore said.
When Moore thinks of Ypsilanti, he said he thinks of strong community values.
“My experience here so far, the community has really embraced me,” Moore said. “We can't be a bystander. We have to really be a person and be an agent of the change that we want to see. That's our responsibility. We can't wait for somebody else to do it. You know, I always ask myself: if not you, then who? So, here I am."
